(Yicai Global) April 19 -- Chery Automobile and US car distributor Haah Automotive Holdings, which linked arms earlier this year, have agreed to set up a joint venture to sell sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks in the States, according to an executive at the Chinese firm.

Chery unit Shikejia Vehicle Technology R&D and Haah have agreed a framework deal to produce and sell three SUVs and a pickup truck, the person told Yicai Global on April 17. Marketed under Haah’s Vantas and T-Go brands, the vehicles will be based on Chery’s Exceed and Tiggo series.

The deal brings Wuhu-based Chery another step closer to becoming the first Chinese original equipment manufacturer to break into the US market. No other Chinese OEM has managed to do that yet due to product, policy, and technical issues.

“The pair will sign an official agreement in the near future, if all goes well,” the executive added.

Chery will export the first of the models to the United States late next year, after which Haah will establish a production plant with annual capacity of 200,000 units, he said.

California-based Haah first contacted Chery about partnering in 2017, the source said. In October 2018, Haah inked a tie-up with China’s Zotye Automobile to make and sell the latter’s vehicles in the US, but that has not yet happened amid Zotye’s mounting debts.

Founded in 2014, Haah focuses on distributing imported cars in the US by partnering with OEMs, according to its website. Its first client was Dubai-based sports carmaker W Motors. Shikejia Vehicle, which has offices in Shanghai’s Free Trade Zone, develops all of Chery’s Exceed models.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi